Best Website Design & Effectiveness

Agency

Description:: Our new start-up Destination Marketing initiative (started in 2020) required strategic planning, marketing planning, and development of key marketing tools such as brand, destination website, all new fulfillment materials, etc.

The development of our new, branded and integrated destination website provides a multi faceted solution to digital marketing needs and opportunities.

Full description of the project is included in the attached link.

http://url325.tacvbideafair.org/ls/click?upn=Vydm2x7lpKigpJX3195W1-2BTJJJYDO4cm5aPWnHAJghT7Mr7J5gfTYxyp-2FJThpZiemzJU3XJAhmunLLffA-2FVya9n1VwO47rizRozJU8KfJCxSwzJk2QlEfwx-2Bt4CfSGdg3QsVmznNxyH-2FXimf3PUuMw-3D-3D6Luq_7EIeGEf8i6tN-2FmcvBhUuoyYURnuho1mVhZFpQp9TEWVMsS5enP0wIP-2FhWh3SPM08-2Bb2mIOE-2Bydj8TrCnEIAb-2Fk46YoKlvuzTtjAsIrnJV8CymL6Mn5drXa6zUDPVcaitYujhURqBL4KJ6KHVfcQ05z-2FE3lkjIY00NsXAOoTGRjSF1WCiQp27W6R-2Bn9zDZlhCdMBHadU2QQyb-2FlEZcDcMqA-3D-3D

Objectives: The objective was to build a robust digital solution to serve as our number one information portal as well as a marketing and business development tool.

Project Costs:: $47,000 including year one licensing.

In-house

Description:: Visiting League City? There’s an app for that League City CVB launched an app for mobile devices that will help visitors to the area better plan their stays. The “Visit League City!” app gives its users the ability to search local attractions and to plan an entire trip, including driving directions to each attraction. Area events also are shown in the app and can be added to a user’s itinerary. In addition, suggested itineraries – including must eats, historic sites tours, shopping boutiques, and foodie tours.

The CVB found the digital platform to be a great way to connect maps, attractions, lodging and dining suggestions with visitors who looking for instant local information. The app is available to download for free on both Apple and Android mobile devices, and also can be used on a desktop computer by visiting www.visitleaguecity.com and clicking “Plan Visit."

Objectives: Provide visitor information in a mobile friendly way.

Increase awareness of area attractions.

Grow use of tool and track metrics to measure travel interest.

Project Costs:: $7,500 Visit Widget

Agency

Description:: The new ExploreVictoriaTexas.com website was launched on April 6, 2020. The Victoria Convention and Visitors Bureau contracted with Saffire to design, host, and support the new website. It has become one of the most turned-to sites in our community for learning about upcoming events and is our primary tool in promoting our leisure activities and tourism partners to out-of-town visitors!

Objectives: The main objective of this project was to create a professional, user-friendly and visually appealing website that projected the identity of our community. Previous websites for our department had either used local, boutique design agencies or were created in-house using WordPress. We searched out an agency that had significant experience experience in working with Texas-based DMOs, and furthermore DMOs that were similarly-sized to our community. We found that partner in Saffire, and are tremendously satisfied with our product.

Project Costs:: $18,800.00

$4,800.000 Annually for hosting and support fees

Agency

Description:: Prior to June 10, 2021, when we launched our new website, Visit McKinney's website hadn't been refreshed since 2016. The site we were using simply no longer met our needs in being able to provide information to our potential visitors in an easy-to-use and pleasing format. It was limiting and quite clunky, and we were in search of something more closely geared toward destination marketing!

Objectives: Our objectives were many as we knew, if we wanted to effectively compete for business in the travel industry, it was imperative to have a website that functioned with the traveler in mind, that was user-friendly, both for the potential visitor and the staff, and easy to update/have control of anything on the website as needed! Among our needs/objectives:

–- The blogging widget, calendar of events, and listings on our old site did not work well from a destination standpoint, there was no ability to provide coupons, and no extranet for partners to be able to update their own listings.

-- We wanted to realign our website with our current and future marketing goals and strategies.

-- We knew providing a better user experience for our potential visitors would make our destination more attractive and welcoming, and we needed a more user-friendly CMS and CRM for staff use.

Due to COVID, we had funds available that we were not going to be using for travel and training as well as some marketing that vendors had canceled, so we reallocated the funds to enable us to create a new brand and website.

Our ultimately goal was to have a website designed to help increase traffic from potential guests and residents, too. We have definitely met this objective, as evidenced by the analytics provided in our entry!

Project Costs:: $37,500 upfront development cost with annual $15,000 licensing fee.

Agency

Description:: Visit Nacogdoches launched their new website with Saffire! The design was created with an intent to brighten and freshen the Visit Nacogdoches image, and appeal to a new demographic of travelers. The website is also more affordable than our previous one, allowing us to use the funds for further marketing in the upcoming year. The new design places an emphasis on events.

Objectives: To provide a user-friendly, effective experience for curious potential travelers. To showcase Nacogdoches as a bright, colorful, visually appealing place to visit. To save moneys and repurpose them for alternative marketing campaigns.

Project Costs:: $3500

Agency

Description:: Destination Bryan’s website has quickly become the authority on places to eat, things to-do, upcoming events, and all the things that make Bryan, Texas - A Legend Reborn. Displayed thoughtfully across each web page are photographs that show the authenticity and vibrancy of Bryan’s events, restaurants, and art scene, allowing visitors to see Bryan from the eyes of locals as well. Featuring user-friendly navigation, advanced site search, call to action signups, a destination blog, email signup forms, event calendars and mapping, customized image gallery integrations for both photo and video, page level alerts, landing pages, business listings, item save features, weather feed integration, the RootRez lodging platform, and other customized features, the Destination Bryan website connects visitors and locals alike to our community’s businesses, restaurants, entertainment venues, and legendary stories.

Unique Visitors: 239,234

Sessions: 312,850

# Session/User: 1.31

Pageviews: 521,040

Pages/Session: 1.67

Avg. Session Duration: 1:16

Bounce Rate: 68.86%

Signals of Intent to Travel:

Booking Platform Engagement:

Session: 4,750

Pageviews: 9,330

Pages Per Session: 1.97

Bounce Rate: 46%

Time On Site: 1:57

"Plan Your Trip" Page:

Pageviews: 4,305

Avg. Time on Page: 1:06

Objectives: To encompass the brand's spirit through design, ease of use, and an encouraging voice that pushes residents and visitors to experience the community and to become the trusted resource for all that Bryan has to offer.

Project Costs:: Project Fee: $60,250

Ongoing Fees: $1,200/month

In-house

Description:: SoPadre.com went live in February 2021 as South Padre Island’s newest website. The site hosts a variety of features such as live webcams, a google maps interface, travel logistics, and information on every activity/business on South Padre Island.

Objectives: South Padre Island launched its newest website sopadre.com to be the information hub that visitors could use for all their vacation needs. We aim to increase our page visits by providing engaging content that will drive visitors to our website. To find the information that will convince them to choose South Padre Island as their next vacation destination.

Project Costs:: $60,000

In-house

Description:: Visit Conroe increased the usage of the event calendar hosted on our website. This event calendar is updated as much, and as accurately as possible. We are pushing this page to be the go to calendar that visitors and residents use to see what is happening in town. The instructional flyer was sent to partners to increase the usage and events to the calendar.

Objectives: Our objective for this is to increase the number of people adding events to our event calendar page. We have made this site very user friendly, individuals hosting events can upload their event to our calendar.

Project Costs:: 0

In-house or Agency?: Agency

Description:: Visit San Marcos went through a complete website overhaul with Simpleview in August 2021. A new URL (VisitSanMarcos.com), new CRM, new CMS, and a partner portal for new website inclusion processes - we experienced a whole lot of new! Starting from scratch, we were able to really personalize the site to our needs. Microsites were created for Downtown, Music, and Arts for more centralized niche hubs of interest. We were able to include more user-generated galleries to give visitors a more first-person insight into places they may be interested in. A new lodging interface with BookDirect was integrated, keeping hotel information, rates, and booking directly on our site for a more seamless user experience. We also included a new mapping feature that allows content creators the option of creating self-guided tours, trails, and other categorized maps based on interest or event. Another offering that was new to us was the ability for users to save listings to a “faves” section for building their ideal trip to San Marcos. They would then be able to share their trip via URL to anyone else in their party.

The website overhaul included all new iconography for San Marcos. The design team took elements from our past and created a modern, yet playful, take on the San Marcos experience. Minimalist sunburst and waves, abstract river patterns, pops of color and a quirky and playful title font really give a feel for the San Marcos vibe. The new site is also capable of including some of the heavier visuals we were not previously able to include. Videos as page heroes, larger galleries and interactive forms are all newly included and refreshed.

Our website analytics in a year-over-year comparison saw a 36% increase in users, 44% increase in sessions, 47% increase in pageviews, and 17% increase in average session duration. Since our launch in August 2021, there have been 323,190 unique visitors, a 59.05% bounce rate, and an average session duration of 1:30.

Objectives: To build an engaging new website with a modern design, easy-to-use interface, and personalized user experience.

Project Costs::$126,500

Agency

Description: The Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau launched a new website in early June 2022. The new site is a major upgrade in design and functionality. The Abilene CVB staff is now able to customize and have more flexibility when creating and updating the site. Visitors will be able to search for events, locations and book hotels with ease directly from this new advanced site.

Objectives:: •Improve overall look and design of the website.

Project Costs:: $50,000

Agency

Description:: The Port Aransas Tourism Bureau & Chamber of Commerce partnered with Simpleview to launch a brand-new website in July 2021. We did extensive research and a complete overhaul of our sitemap to ensure we were providing visitors with all the content they wanted and needed to be inspired to make their way to Port A. The site showcases our brand with compelling design, video and image embedding, and eye-catching layouts. We layered in strategic SEO efforts to support our organic growth and dominance in the market. The result has been record-breaking website traffic and increased time on site, nearly doubling the amount of unique users to nearly 1,000,000 over the past twelve months! Way to go Port A!

Objectives: Our objectives for the Visit Port Aransas website are for it to be an easy-to-navigate, helpful resource for potential and current visitors, a platform to highlight local businesses, and a champion for Port Aransas. Over the last year, we’ve had 1.3M+ sessions and 2.7M+ pageviews, with an average session duration of 1:44.

Project Costs:: $75,500 one time costs to build CRM and CMS, along with five Port Aransas websites.